When Kitty Moved In
by Emotional Dalek
Summary: Naboo has a new lodger, Kitty Brooks. She's helpful and gets along with everyone. And Vince is falling for her fast. Vince/Kitty, possible Howard/OC later on. Rated for drug abuse and suicide themes. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I own nothing except for Kitty, she's mine!

Essentially a series of oneshots but they're all connected and any characters of my own invention are likely to reappear and are not to be stolen! 

* * *

An average height woman walked down the street in the rain wearing purple drainpipe trousers and a multi-coloured zip-through hoodie with the rainbow hood down revealing a pale face with grey-blue eyes blending in with the background perfectly and dark hair plastered to her head by the rain. She was carrying a bag on her back.

The rain had caught her off guard and she was looking for a shop to step into out of the rain. She knew it would be quicker to just turn around and go home- there weren't very many shops in this part of the city- but she couldn't go back there, not now.

It was then that she spotted the bright red shop called the "Nabootique" on her left. It looked so out of place next to all the greyness. The sign said "Open" so she stepped into the little shop.

It was a second hand shop, with an illuminated green front desk and an old wooden piano like the one her grandmother had owned in the corner. There was a man sitting behind the desk with his feet up on the surface of it wearing what looked like a glittery jump-suit and white heeled boots. He was reading the latest issue of Cheekbone and only looked up briefly when she came in, too busy reading his magazine to talk. And she couldn't blame him, Cheekbone was always a good read, but it was hard for her to get it because her parents were so strict about things like that. Yes, she was twenty-five and she still lived with her parents. But not anymore, the only time she was ever going back to that house was to get her stuff, she knew Gran would keep it for her until she found somewhere to stay.

A man wearing a dodgy shirt and beige trousers who had the smallest eyes she'd ever seen and thin brown hair and a moustache and who looked unbelievably like the Geography teacher she'd had in school. "Vince," said the man, trying and failing to keep her from hearing him, "We've got a customer." The man had a northern accent.

"Yeah, I know, I was going to talk to her once I was finished reading this."

"I'll talk to her."

"She wont want to be freaked out by you and your jazz!"

"Shut it!" The man walked over to her.

"Hello there. Howard Moon, at your service."

"Hi, I'm Kitty, nice to meet you." Kitty smiled light-heartedly at him.

"Anything in particular you're looking for? We have some excellent jazz records."

"Well, I would get one, but I haven't got any money for one thing and I've nowhere to play it anyway."

"So you like jazz then?" Howard said this louder and looked over at Vince behind the desk.

"Not all jazz, I really like Nina Simone and that kind of thing, but I have an open mind towards all these things."

"Well, I'll leave you to it. Do you want a cup of tea or anything?"

"No thanks, I'm not really a tea drinker to be honest."

With that, Howard walked into the back room which looked like a kitchen.

"Sorry about him," said Vince, "He's a bit of a jazz freak. You didn't have to be nice to him about it, now you'll probably have to join him and Lester Cornflake-"

"Corncrake!" yelled Howard.

"Whatever. Anyway, I'm Vince Noir, and you?"

"Katherine Brooks, but everyone just calls me Kitty. And I _do _like Nina Simone. But I'm more into electro music."

"Seriously? Me too!"

"No way! Do you like Gary Numan?"

"He's genius! Y'know he's not only a pop star, but he also has a-"

"Pilot's licence! I know, how awesome is that?!"

"I know! You just have to love him." All of a sudden, a short man in a robe and turban came down the stairs.

"It's six o'clock, why haven't you closed up yet?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realise I was holding you up. I hope I'll see you again sometime Vince. Tell Howard I said goodbye."

"Will do, bye Kitty!"

Kitty walked out the door and down the street, not in the direction of home.

"Who was that?" asked Naboo once she was gone.

"Just a customer, I'm hoping she comes back soon, she's really cool."

"And she likes a little jazz too!" cut in Howard.

"She likes Nina Simone, that doesn't really count."

Down the street, Kitty Brooks was searching for somewhere she could spend the night. It was then that she came across a nightclub where she might be able to spend a few hours off the streets. It was called The Velvet Onion.

* * *

"Come on Howard, we've got our gig to get to!" Howard and Vince had got a gig at The Velvet Onion. One song, then the DJ would come on. They knew it wasn't great, but it was better than nothing.

Once they got there, the place was crowded and stuffy. It was so crowded that Vince was afraid Howard would make a scene over being touched. He could be a bit ridiculous about such things.

It was then that he saw Kitty, sitting in a booth in the corner. Her bag next to her. She looked so lonely.

"Hey," said Vince, who had walked over to talk to her. Kitty looked up and he realised that she was crying. "What's wrong? I don't mean to be nosey or anything, I mean I barely know you."

"That's okay. And I'm crying because I've got nowhere to go."

"What do you mean?"

"I've left my parents' house and I don't plan on going back."

"Well, if you want I could ask Naboo if you could stay in the spare room?"

"I don't want to be a burden to anyone."

"Don't worry, you wouldn't be. Naboo isn't likely to mind much, so long as you help around. Here, Naboo!"

"What now?" asked the shaman.

"Can Kitty have the spare room?"

"Sure, just so long as she helps run the shop with you and Howard."

"Thank you so much!" said Kitty, grinning from ear to ear.

"That's alright, just don't forget to help out."


	2. Nostalgia in a bad way

I own nothing except for Kitty, she's mine!

* * *

"Has anyone seen my hat?"

"Have you checked the hat stand?" yelled Howard from the kitchen.

"We have a hat stand?" Kitty yelled back at him, surprised.

"Yeah, since when do we have a hat stand?" asked Vince. "I've never seen it."

"Well, we do, it's by the door. You put your coats and cloaks on it."

"Oh yeah, that thing."

As it turned out, Kitty's hat _was _on the hat stand, exactly where she'd left it after coming in from getting a few groceries.

"Could someone please come with me to get my stuff? I really don't want to face my parents by myself."

"They can't be that bad," Howard had joined the conversation.

"They wouldn't let me read Cheekbone, I wasn't allowed walk home by myself until I was seventeen!"

"Point taken."

"I'll go with you," said Vince, looking up from NME. "It's not like I've got anything better to do."

A few minutes later, Vince and Kitty were walking towards Kitty's parents' house in the chilly winter air, wrapped up warm in coats, scarves, hats and gloves.

The house wasn't hugely attractive. It was dull grey concrete with grotty windows that didn't let much light in. The roof slates were coming loose and beginning to fall of-there were already about half a dozen smashed on the ground. The tiny piece of garden was a patch of overgrown yellowed grass with weeds everywhere. The side of the house facing the house was covered in graffiti and ghastly stains. There was a nasty atmosphere surrounding the house. The house looked condemned.

Someone inside the house must have noticed them, because a minute later a large woman with a permanent sneer on her face came out. Vince guessed the woman must have been Kitty's mother although he also guessed that she had got her looks from her father since this woman looked nothing like Kitty, she looked like an angry dumpling.

"Look who's come crawling back!" the woman spoke with more then a little contempt. "Thought you said, and I quote; 'I hate this place, I'm never coming back! Ever!'"

"I'm just here to get my stuff. Now please let me through." Kitty didn't once look at her mother, she hated her so much.

"You can get your stuff then get out, I don't ever want to see your face again!" Mrs. Brooks noticed Vince watching the dispute in silence, he didn't want to get involved in this spat between mother and daughter.

"What you lookin' at then? Think this is entertaining? You'll realise what she's like soon enough. She's a no-good rotten junkie!"

Vince remained silent. He hadn't known Kitty very long, but he knew that she was no junkie.

Kitty ran in and came out carrying a box filled with her possessions, she was crying.

* * *

That evening, Kitty offered to make dinner. It was Naboo who asked her if she was okay.

"I'm fine," but her trembling voice said otherwise.

"Here," he passed her something soft, "You dropped that by the front desk." It was a teddy. She could remember when she had got it, when she was smaller.

_It was a warm summer's day and the Brooks family were on holiday in Bray in Ireland. Mrs. Brooks was smiling, not a single sign of the sneer on her face. She had been beautiful. Mr. Brooks was happy too. He hadn't started to his drinking yet. This was before the drugs, before the dodgy friends._

_Mrs. Brooks was taking her daughter to the beach when they passed a small shop full of little trinkets and the like. Kitty had spotted something she liked in the window._

"_Mummy, mummy look!" Kitty was pointing towards a bear with red fur and was wearing a pretty purple dress with white stitching._

"_What love?"_

"_Look at the teddy!"_

"_That's a lovely teddy dear, but you already have a teddy. What would Jemima think of being replaced like that?"_

"_She wouldn't be replaced, she'd have someone to play with when I'm at school."_

"_Alright then, but they'd better get along."_

The bear wasn't anywhere near as pretty as she had been all those years ago when Kitty had spotted her in the window of that shop. Her fur was faded so that she was more pink than red now, and her dress had some stains on it. She was missing quite a bit of stuffing from where Kitty had hid things from her parents inside her. One of her ears was gone.

Al of a sudden, Kitty burst into tears. Vince, Howard, Naboo and Bollo came in to see what all the fuss was, but only Vince was able to work up the courage to come over to her and try to comfort her.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm wrong. I had a family that loved me, I was doing well in school, I had everything I needed and I blew it!"

"It can't be that bad. I know you've only been here a week, but we're here for you."

"If I tell you, you have to swear not to tell anyone."

"Okay, we swear."

"I used to be a drug addict, that's why my parents hate me. They never forgave me."

"Well, you're okay now, right?"

"Yeah, I've been clean for two years, but my parents still don't trust me."

"Well, you're off them now and that's what matters," piped up Howard, "And if you ever end up back on them, we promise we'll help you."

"Thanks guys, you're good friends." Kitty smiled properly for the first time since before she started on drugs.


	3. Sick

So so so sorry about the long wait! I had writer's block, then it was my mocks so I had no time to write anything, and then I had a bad case of tonsillitis L (COOL MY COMPUTER DOES SMILEYS!!!! I didn't know that J)

Once again, I own nothing except for Kitty, she's mine!

* * *

_It was dark in the Brooks house, everyone was asleep except for Kitty who sitting on the threadbare grey carpet. She had overdosed and she knew it._

_But she didn't care whether she lived or died anymore. Beside her was a bread knife from the kitchen which she glanced at from time to time. Kitty picked up the knife and held up to her index finger, drawing a drop of blood._

_She watched the drop as it ran down her arm before drawing the knife down them several times._

_It was then, when it was too late, that she realised how stupid she'd been. She'd had everything she needed. She had passed all her dance exams with flying colours, and had good recommendations for becoming a professional, she'd had parents who had loved her, she'd had good friends. And she'd thrown all of that away because of a heroin addiction. She had never needed drugs anyway. She could sort of understand it for someone with a dead-end life, but she could have been great. She would never be great now._

_And, oh God, the blood. So much blood. How could one person produce so much of it?_

"_I've changed my mind! I want to live! I want to live!" Kitty screamed. Mrs. Brooks heard her and ran downstairs and started screaming herself before calling an ambulance. Then everything just went…_

"Kitty!" someone was yelling at her. "Kitty wake up!" It was Vince.

"I don't want to die! I don't… I don't…"

"What are you on about?"

"N-nothing, it was jut a bad dream."

"Are you all right? You look really pale."

"I'm fine," and she promptly vomited all over her stripy bed sheets.

"Come on, you can't sleep in that." Vince led Kitty out into the main room of the flat and sat her down on the couch. He passed her over a cloth (there was still a little sick around her mouth) and a glass of water to rinse out her mouth.

"What happened?"

"Well, you were screaming and you woke me up. You must have been having a bad dream or something."

"More of a bad memory really."

"I'm surprised Howard didn't wake up, he's normally a light sleeper."

"At least _someone _heard me, last time I had a dream like that without being woken up, I woke up in hospital and was told that I'd had a petit mal seizure."

"Really? That doesn't sound good."

"Petit mals are only mini seizures. No lasting damage, normally. But I suppose I _was _suffering from withdrawal symptoms, so that probably set it off. Still, better safe than sorry."

"Yeah. Anyway, I'll get you some clean sheets. You can't really sleep in a bed soaked in vomit."

"Not really, no. I'll put them into the washing basket."

"Nah, it's fine. You need some rest."

After several minutes, Kitty finally agreed to let Vince change the sheets, despite the fact that she was "feeling much better now." Vince was being very chivalrous.

The next morning, Kitty was feeling worse. She had a high temperature and was feverish. Naboo could do nothing for her, with fevers all you could do was sit it out.

It was two days before Kitty was back to normal again. When she woke up, Vince was on a chair beside her, asleep. Naboo told her that he'd barely left her side in all that time. Vince denied it, but Kitty knew it was true and thought it was very sweet of him to help look after her like that.


	4. First Kiss

**I apologise for the super long wait, I've been seriously busy. But, here it is, at last. Enjoy!**

…..

The next few weeks passed quickly, with Kitty and Vince becoming ever closer. Kitty was extremely efficient in improving how the shop was run. She used her rather elderly laptop o show Howard how to do up a stock control sheet and final accounts. She played the piano while there were customers in the shop. She made tea, coffee, and snacks for Howard, Vince (who rarely ate any of the snacks), Naboo, and banana milkshakes, banana bread, etcetera for Bollo. And then they had an unwanted visitor.

Mrs. Brookes was doing a bit of window shopping in the area (she had a habit of doing such things in odd places), when she walked through the door of the Nabootique. She was shocked to see her daughter sitting at the piano and laughing at something her friend had said. The laughter stopped very fast.

"Mum?" she said, "What are you doing here?"

"I might ask you the same question!"

"I work here."

"As what, a radio?" Kitty went bright red.

"I just help out. And sometimes that means playing the piano."

"You should be careful of her," she was speaking to Vince now, "she stole money from myself and her father."

"That was before!" Protested Kitty, now very embarrassed.

"Yeah, well, what are the chances of you going back to it, eh?"

"Oh for once in your life, would you leave me alone!" Kitty ran up the stairs, sobbing.

"I think _you _should leave." said Vince, glaring at Mrs. Brookes. The woman made a 'humph' noise and walked out with her nose pointed towards the sky.

At that moment, Howard walked in with three mugs of tea (he was determined that Kitty was going to be a tea addict, and so far he was succeeding). Vince asked him to mind the shop and ran after Kitty.

He found Kitty in a sobbing heap in the corner of her room, eyes red and puffy and nose beginning to run. She was a mess. "Hey," he said, wanting desperately to see her smile, "you know all those things she said aren't true, right?"

"Yes, they are!" replied Kitty, almost hysterical. "I've completely destroyed my life! I was going to go to college, study something like zoology with dance! And now I can't, I've wrecked my chances of getting anywhere!"

"You know that's not true, you're Kitty Brooks, you've been off drugs for a year, and you have me, Howard, Naboo and Bollo to make sure you don't go back to them! And I'm fairly certain most colleges have their fair share of reformed drug addicts." Kitty wiped her eyes on her neon pink sleeve. "You could get in no bother."

"You really think so?"

"I know so. Now cheer up, and we'll have some tea." Kitty smiled. To Vince, Kitty's smile was the most beautiful thing in the world; more beautiful than his Gary Numan collection! And for him, that was saying something.

Kitty and Vince picked up their tea from the counter and went back upstairs to drink it in peace. Kitty huddled up to Vince on the couch, seeking comfort from his warm, slim frame. Next thing Kitty knew, Vince was kissing her. And she was kissing back

**Okay, I'm not particularly happy with this chapter, but it's really just a filler to be honest. Hope people enjoyed it. Please, please review, you'd be surprised at how happy reviews make me. Again, I only own Kitty, no one else. **


	5. Funeral

_**I'm on a roll today, I finished one chapter and I'm starting the next one only two and a half hours later! I know there are some of you who can write a ten chapter story in about two or three days, but for me this is genius! Once again, I don't own any of this apart from Kitty, and some I'll be introducing in this chapter, Amelia Brooks and her parents, Joey and Niamh. This chapter is going to be a bit sad, so if you get sensitive about characters you haven't seen before dying, better tune out now.**_

_It had been a month since Mrs. Brooks had dropped in on the residents of the Nabootique, and things were finally looking up for Kitty. Her and Vince were now together, she was getting back into her dancing, she was going to make up college applications come New Year, and she hadn't heard from her parents in all this time._

_And then something awful happened. Howard picked up the phone to hear a sobbing voice ask for Kitty. "Kitty!" he yelled, "Phone!"_

"_Hello?" she asked, giggling as Vince began to tickle her._

"_Kitty, it's Gran." Kitty slapped away Vince's hands._

"_Oh hey Gran! What's up?"_

"_It's Joey, him and Niamh were in a car accident. They're dead!"_

"_W-what?" Kitty hadn't spoken to her brother in months, and even though she hadn't meant it, the last thing she'd said to him was that she hated him. Very cliché, but it was the truth. In reality, Kitty loved her brother, and his three year old daughter, Amelia. _

"_I know! Amelia's in surgery at the moment, nothing serious, just a bad break, but still."_

"_I'll be right there." Kitty hung up and grabbed her coat. "C'mon Vince! We've got to get to the hospital!"_

"_Why, what's happened?" He had noticed the tears welling up in her grey-blue eyes, threatening to spill over._

"_Joey and Niamh are dead." Kitty had told Vince about her older brother and how he looked after her when she was little. There had been a huge age difference between them - she was only fifteen when he married Niamh McGovern. He knew that Joey had a daughter called Amelia who was about three and that Kitty thought the world of her._

_When they got to the hospital, they were directed to the waiting room outside an operating theatre where the whole Brooks family and several of the McGovern's were assembled. Mr. and Mrs. Brooks were too caught up in their despair to give out to Kitty._

"_What happened?" Kitty asked Aidine McGovern, Niamh's younger sister._

"_They were just driving along when a car shot out of nowhere, it was a hit and run. Niamh was killed on impact," her voice wobbled, "and Joey died in the ambulance. Amelia only broke her arm, she's in surgery now."_

"_Thanks," said Kitty shakily, the tears that had been building up for the past hour finally spilling over. Vince hugged her close and she cried silently into his chest. All she could think about was the argument they'd had before she'd left._

"_Where are you going?" asked Joey, looking at the clothes his baby sister was packing into her suitcase. "We just got here and I haven't seen you in ages!"_

"_Anywhere's better than here Joey. You've seen how they treat me, like I'm a verouca or something horrible and unwanted like that!"_

"_They love you, Kitty."_

"_They've got a funny way of showing it!"_

"_You don't see the way they look at you! They're so worried that you'll do something stupid."_

"_You're just as bad as them! You have no idea what it's like to not even be allowed walk down to the corner shop and back on your own! Or to be constantly sneered at by your own parents!"_

"_Do you have any idea how stupid you sound? If you wanted some independence you shouldn't have been so dense! If you hadn't started on drugs, you could have a life!"_

"_You're against me too! I hate you!" Kitty punched him, hard, and left._

"Kitty, wake up!" Vince said quietly into his girlfriend's ear. "Amelia's out of surgery." Kitty's head shot up so fast that she hit Vince in the chin.

"Oh, sorry!"

"S'okay. C'mon, let's go find that niece of yours."

Amelia was in the children's ward wearing a hospital gown with pictures of various different Disney characters on it. She was still asleep and had a big, pink cast on her arm. A nurse told them that she wouldn't be up until tomorrow, but none of them left until that evening.

A week later they were at the funeral. Kitty sat next to her Gran and Vince, who kept his arm around her for the whole service. At the end of the service, Kitty had to sing. 

The song was one she had written when her best friend had died several years ago, called _Hear You Me_**(A/N: It's by Jimmy Eat World)**.

_There's no one in town I knowYou gave us some place to goI never said thank you for that'thought I might get one more chanceWhat would you think of me now?So lucky, so strong, so proudI never said thank you for thatNow I'll never have a chanceMay angels lead you inHear you me my friendsOn sleepless roads, the sleepless goNow I'll never have a chanceMay angels lead you inHear you me my friendsOn sleepless roads the sleepless go May angels lead you in(May angels lead you in)May angels lead you in(May angels lead you in)May angels lead you inAnd if you were with me tonightI'd sing to you just one more timeA song for a heart so bigGod wouldn't let it liveMay angels lead you inHear you me my friendsOn sleepless roads the sleepless goMay angels lead you inMay angels lead you inHear you me my friendsOn sleepless roads the sleepless goMay angels lead you in _

_May angels lead you inSo what would you think of me now?So lucky, so strong, so proudI never said thank you for that_

By the time the song was over, Kitty was crying. Most of the guests had left the church, so barely anyone saw her collapse into Vince's arms and cry. She didn't look up until she felt something squeezing her legs. It was Amelia. Amelia was about three and was quite small for her age. She had bright red insanely curly hair and big blue eyes. She fitted the description of Dorian Gray perfectly, since she also looked like she had been made of autumn leaves and snow **(A/N: I can't remember if that's right or not. Could somebody please point out any mistakes in what I used to describe her?)**, apart from the frizziness of her hair of course, that was her own. Amelia was crying into Kitty's legs.

"C'mere you," said Kitty, picking up her niece and hugging her close. Amelia barely left Kitty's side once, and when Vince and Kitty went to go home, Amelia screamed. Kitty promised that she'd see her soon, and got into the taxi. 

Kitty cried so much on the way home that Vince's shirt ended up wrecked. They spent the evening curled up to each other, sharing a mug of hot chocolate overloaded with marshmallows while watching a documentary about penguins.

The next morning, Kitty received another call from her grandmother. Kitty was now Amelia's legal guardian.

**Okay, please, please, please review! The review count is very low. Reviews are love! Hope everyone enjoyed by the way.**


	6. IMPORTANT!

There is a scheme brewing up with the FF staff and they're planning to take down any and every story over the M rated section (stories with yaoi, yuri, het lemons, song based stories, extreme violence, etc) ...

So on June 23rd, there will be an official Black Out. Authors will not log in, read, or review stories. Those who do not have accounts are also affected by FF's decisions too. Please participate and spread the news! If enough authors take part in this event, FF will know we mean business.

SPREAD THE WORD!


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